Our Practice

Paul, Weiss offers one of the country’s go-to practices in advising clients on national security, sanctions, export controls, FARA and CFIUS matters.

At a time when the U.S. government is increasingly focused on foreign investment in critical U.S. industries and technologies and demanding access to corporate data and other sensitive corporate information for counterterrorism and other purposes, our team is led by one of the nation’s foremost national security lawyers, and includes former senior officials from the Department of Justice, the White House, Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of the Treasury with extensive experience in handling complex and sensitive national security issues and transactions.

Leveraging unparalleled experience in regulatory and white collar defense, we are uniquely positioned to help clients respond to national security and international trade-related regulatory inquiries, examinations and subpoenas; conduct internal investigations; and handle matters that develop into multiagency investigations. Our practice also encompasses regulatory advice, compliance counseling and transactional due diligence.

National Security Guidance

U.S. government agencies and law enforcement are increasingly requiring companies to cooperate with national security-related investigations, including surveillance orders and demands for access to sensitive corporate data. We know how to protect our clients, their customers’ data and their most important trade secrets, and have deep experience negotiating with the executive branch or litigating such issues in the courts.

We are also adept at providing real-time guidance in the immediate aftermath of a national security or CFIUS-related adverse event. No firm is better placed to engage multiple U.S. government agencies in parallel matters; advise on strategic communications; respond to Congressional inquiries; and proactively manage longer-term litigation and regulatory fallout.

CFIUS Reviews & International Trade

We have guided public and private equity clients through some of the largest and most sensitive cross-border transactions reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), including reviews involving the technology, fintech, health care, industrial and other high-priority sectors – collectively hundreds of international transactions and securities offerings in the past few decades. We can provide due diligence assessments, advise on contractual and structural matters and obtain needed regulatory approvals.

We also advise major foreign investment companies on their near- and long-term CFIUS strategy, including the implications of recent reform legislation potentially impacting the way CFIUS reviews are conducted. More broadly, we handle matters involving sanctions and export controls, anti-bribery and anti-boycott restrictions, defense and industrial-security matters, and international trade and investment disputes.

Proactive Advice

We help clients understand fast-changing regulations, regulatory expectations, disclosure obligations and industry standards related to national security and CFIUS. Our focus is on mitigating problems before they arise, including:

• developing “best in class” compliance frameworks to identify and address data collection, sharing, use and retention practices that may give rise to national security, privacy, consumer protection or other regulatory risks;
• analyzing the viability, legality and risk of proposed products, practices and business models in connection with national security laws or privacy regulations;
• counseling organizations and individuals in sensitive and high-stakes matters relating to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and offering extensive practical, risk-based guidance on the law’s applicability, as well as conducting domestic and cross-border FARA investigations;
• counseling global companies on supply chain management and supply chain security, including compliance with forced labor laws such as the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA);
• conducting internal investigations and crafting national security and export controls policies and procedures tailored to both external and internal risks; and
• reviewing and implementing crisis management and disaster recovery plans.

The practice is buttressed by our firm’s industry-leading cybersecurity and data protection, sanctions and export controls, internal investigations, Anti-Money Laundering, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and congressional investigations groups, as well as the nation’s foremost litigation department.